So I am absolutely, head over heels in love with the Gears of War board game. I am a fan of the video games and the transition to board game is superb. I read the manual probably 2 months ago but was never able to get it to the table until last night. With 4 players and the Emergence Hole (beginner) scenario, we bombed out really bad and pushed it aside. For the rest of the night I couldn't figure out where we went wrong because none of us really made any glaring mistakes or anything. The next morning, I fired up a solo game and within 30 seconds found out I missed a major rule; 4/5 of the emergence holes are supposed to start off sealed, I had left them opened. I texted the rest of the group, they let me know they were free, and 2, later 3, of us met up to try again.
We destroyed the beginner scenario with 2, and moved onto the next one, the China Shop, Berserker setup. We came just within grasp, hit the Berserker with the Hammer of Dawn once, but ended up getting wiped in the end. The 3rd person showed up, we tried the scenario again, and got to the same point before all dying. Even though we lost, we all had a blast strategizing and working together to manage the board and help each other out.
The game works a lot like Pandemic, where a deck determines what the enemies are doing, and even has that same tension where you really fear what is coming up next in the enemy action deck. Very action packed, plenty of OMG I can't believe that just happened moments. The minis are getting painted up asap and I cannot wait until playing again.
I found that rather than playing a solo board game, I would rather just spend my time to play a video game, but the Gears of War board game I would play by myself. So awesome.